Enhanced eBooks

What is an Enhanced eBook?

In the eBook field, the word enhanced is used as a way of describing those books that include Interaction, Narration, Voiceover, Texthighlight, embeddedaudio, embeddedvideos, Interactivewidgets, Animation, 3Dmedia and so on. In the recent past, the progress of the eBook features has been quite inconsistent.

There are some of the enhancements that have been made, but they are limited to some apps and devices. Some eBook apps give the best enhancements, but there are various ways in which retailers and other systems can utilize all the options that are available.

Things that aren’t considered to be enhancements

Different people define enhancements in different ways. The subject indexes that are linked and end notes linking both directions cannot be considered to be enhancements. The reason why this is the case is due to their importance to the whole eBook concept. Embedded fonts cannot be considered as enhancements. One of the things that the embedded fonts can do is that they will make the entire eBook design more appealing and this makes it possible for a person to enjoy reading.

eBooks need to capture the attention of people and to instil some level of excitement. Linking is a great way of giving a great design. The enhancements are the extras which will give the eBook an edge that is more interactive, informative and interesting. The important thing is to ensure that all those elements are included.

Some of the best enhancements include:

Video and audio: This is one of the commonly used enhancements in eBooks today. Where one has got some media content that is related to the book, then, embedding it is an open option that you should consider. However, it is very important to know that very few reading systems only support such media.

Recommendations on embedding videos and audio

When choosing to embed, you need to consider the impact that that particular content will have on the message that the eBook aims at portraying. Since there are many limitations related to eBooks that have got embedded media means that you may end up failing in sales. The size of your final file also matters.

The best way to handle this issue is to make sure that such files aren’t within the eBook but rather in another location, say your website, to make sure that the eBook isn’t that large. You can then use links to reach such media. Make URL’s as short as possible.

Interactivity and animations: Some readers already support animations, and they can be great additions to an eBook. Creating these kinds of eBooks can be a tad tricky because they use 2D cutout kind of style. This is a great choice when one is trying to create an eBook that revolves around children, and all elements need to be laid out.

Interactive widgets: These can include quiz taking and photo gallery widgets which can help lots of books adding to their functionality.

3D Animation: You can have a 3-dimensional image on the page which can be scrolled and be viewed in multiple angles. 3D animation has more depth and looks more realistic when compared to 2D animation or any traditional animation.

Beneath the ink: This technology allows you to enjoy more than just images and text.